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Lost in Yonkers (film)
| music = Elmer Bernstein | cinematography = Johnny E. Jensen A. Troy Thomas | editing = Steven Cohen | distributor = Columbia Pictures | released = | runtime = 114 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $15 millionhttp://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59616 | gross = $9 million }} Lost in Yonkers is a 1993 American comedy-drama film adaptation of Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, directed by Martha Coolidge. It stars Irene Worth, Mercedes Ruehl, and Richard Dreyfuss. It was the first theatrical feature film to be edited on Avid Media Composer. Plot synopsis In 1942 in the Bronx, Evelyn Kurnitz has just died following a lengthy illness. Her husband, Eddie Kurnitz, needs to take a job as a traveling salesman to pay off the medical bills incurred. Eddie decides to ask his stern and forbidding mother, from whom he is slightly estranged, if his two early-teen sons, Jay and Arty (whom their Grandma calls by their full given names, Yakob and Arthur), can live with her and their Aunt Bella Kurnitz in Yonkers. His mother refuses at first but reluctantly agrees after Bella threatens to leave her if the boys aren't allowed to stay. Despite their Grandmother owning and operating a candy store, Jay and Arty don't like their new living situation. They are afraid of their cold and distant Grandmother and find it difficult to relate to their crazy Aunt Bella, whose slow mental state is manifested by perpetual excitability and a short attention span, which outwardly comes across as a childlike demeanor. Into their collective lives returns one of Eddie and Bella's other siblings, Louie Kurnitz, a henchman for gangsters. He is hiding out from Hollywood Harry, who wants what Louie stole and which he is hiding in a small black bag. Jay and Arty's mission becomes how to make money fast so they can help their father and move back in together, which may entail stealing the $15,000 their Grandma has hidden somewhere. Bella's mission is to find a way to tell the family that she wants to get married to Johnny, her equally slow movie theater usher boyfriend; the two could also use $5,000 of Grandma's hidden money to open their dream restaurant. Louie's objective is merely to survive the next couple of days. Cast * Richard Dreyfuss as Louie Kurnutz * Mercedes Ruehl as Bella Kurnutz * Irene Worth as Grandma Kurnutz * Mike Damus as Arty Kurnutz * Brad Stoll as Jay Kurnutz * David Strathairn as Johnny Broadway play After eleven previews, the Broadway production, directed by Gene Saks, opened on February 21, 1991, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 780 performances. The original cast included Jamie Marsh, Irene Worth, Mercedes Ruehl, and Kevin Spacey. Reception The film holds a score of 71% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 17 reviews. Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, "All of the performances are good, but one of them, by Mercedes Ruehl, casts a glow over the entire film." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune awarded two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "A wonderful play about a classically unhappy household that has been turned into a typical, mechanical Neil Simon joke machine. Simon's stage words rarely transfer well to the more realistic arena of film, and this is no exception. Another liability is that Richard Dreyfuss hams his way through a role that was played with dignity and poignancy on stage by Kevin Spacey."Siskel, Gene (May 14, 1993). "Siskel's Flicks Picks". Chicago Tribune. Section 7, page D. Janet Maslin of The New York Times described the film as "sometimes more picturesque than powerful. But it conveys all the warmth and color of the original material."Maslin, Janet (May 14, 1993). "Simon's Serious Comedy Of Contemporary Nostalgia". The New York Times. C10. Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "Story of a domineering old woman's tyranny over two generations of offspring is adroitly structured and contains strong human elements, but what proved so affecting onstage seems a bit pat and calculated when viewed in closeup."McCarthy, Todd (May 10, 1993). "Reviews: Lost in Yonkers". Variety. 236. Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles Times described the film as "essentially deep-dish Neil Simon, which is, after all, not so very deep. But neither is the play negligible; it has a felt, melancholy undertow, and Ruehl and Worth, who both won Tonys for their performances on Broadway, bring out its full, racking sadness."Rainer, Peter (May 14, 1993). "Neil Simon Gets Serious in 'Lost in Yonkers'". Los Angeles Times. F8. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, "In the film version, with Ruehl and Worth repeating their Tony-winning roles, Simon intensifies the barrage of belly laughs and bathos. Director Martha Coolidge, whose Rambling Rose was a model of graceful literary adaptation, seems at a loss with the crass material." References External links * * * * * Category:1993 films Category:American coming-of-age films Category:American films Category:American comedy-drama films Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:Film scores by Elmer Bernstein Category:Films set in Westchester County, New York Category:Films set in the Bronx Category:Films set in the 1940s Category:American films based on plays Category:Films directed by Martha Coolidge Category:Films with screenplays by Neil Simon Category:Films based on works by Neil Simon Category:1990s comedy-drama films